5 Ways Employers Can Hook The Top Applicants – 5/15/2014

Follow five recruitment tips to hire exceptional candidates who are best suited for the job.

With 10.5 million Americans currently unemployed, there are more job seekers than positions to fill in the United States presently. However, this bounty of available talent doesn’t mean it’s always easy to hire qualified administrators and managers for medical practices—especially if you’re looking for only the best candidates.

Physicians, registered nurses, and administrators at the top of their fields always have options. This allows them the luxury of being particularly selective about the jobs for which they apply. Whether you’re hiring for a private practice, a large multi-specialty facility, or a clinic, consider the following ways to attract the best candidates to your healthcare organization.

1. Make the application process easy.

The first exposure a pediatric registered nurse or family medicine physician has to your organization is the job advertisement you’ve posted. Keep it simple, avoiding industry jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations. Stick to the details applicants want to know such as job title, basic duties, requirements, schedule, location, and application instructions. If you require candidates to utilize an online applicant tracking system, make sure it functions properly. The best job seekers will not waste their time fighting with an unruly front end, nor will they spend hours answering dozens of irrelevant questions. Keep the application process short and to the point and you’ll reduce the drop off rate significantly.

2. Communicate throughout the process.

Nothing frustrates a job seeker like weeks of waiting for a response to an application or resume submission. The best cardiologists and case managers know they have skills that are in demand—and they will write off your opportunity and move on to the next if you leave them hanging. To attract top talent, you must communicate regularly throughout the screening process. This means providing information on the next steps after application submission, phone interview, and in-person interview at the minimum. You should also be upfront about your timeline for hiring.

3. Talk about salary early.

You cannot keep salary off the negotiating table if you want to secure the best healthcare candidates. In fact, it may be essential to discuss pay expectations early—in the job posting or at least the phone interview—if you want to hold their interest. Top-notch professionals don’t have time to play games, and refusing to discuss such an important consideration is one of the quickest ways to ensure they continue their search for employment elsewhere.

4. Consider peer interviewing.

Recruit your clinic or practice’s top performers to participate in interviews. When you allow the best candidates access to some of the professionals they will be working with, you add a great deal of transparency to the hiring process. Not only can these individuals better describe the responsibilities of the position in question, but their presence also provides the job seeker with information on the type of professional who typically succeeds in your organization.

5. Choose a job board wisely.

While an easy application process, regular communication, and transparency can all go a long way towards helping you attract the best candidates, there’s an additional step you can take this instant to put your available healthcare jobs in front of the top professionals in the industry: use a niche job board like the HEALTHeCAREERS Network. From job posting, to resume search and website advertising, to targeted email campaigns, HEALTHeCAREERS is a single source solution to your healthcare recruiting needs.